Thousands protest in Greece against Macedonia name deal

Thousands of Greeks protested Wednesday in main cities around the country against attempts to solve a festering 27-year name row with Macedonia, reportedly now close to a deal. Around 2,000 people gathered in Pella, the historic capital of the ancient Macedonian kingdom, birthplace of Alexander the Great, an AFP reporter said. Organisers had hoped for over twice that number. “We invite our neighbours, who are ignorant of history, to come to (our) museums and archaeological sites and discover that Macedonia is Greek,” Halkidona mayor Ioannis Tsouknidas told the crowd. “I think the government will be pressured by the protests and will not proceed to an agreement,” said Katerina Karamouza, a 60-year-old wearing traditional folk garb to the demonstration. The protests, organised by a committee backed by Greek diaspora, clerics and local mayors associations, were likewise held in over a dozen cities in the northern Greek region of Macedonia. “(Zoran) Zaev, you can only be born Macedonian. You cannot become one,” read a protester banner addressed to the Macedonian prime minister. Smaller gatherings were also held in central Greece, and on the islands of Crete, Rhodes, Corfu and Kos. “We estimate 500-1,000 people in each city,” a police source said. Athens objects to the neighbouring state’s constitutional name, Republic of , because Greece fears it may imply territorial ambitions. Ancient Macedonia was the cradle of Alexander the Great’s empire, a point of pride to Greeks today. But under the Romans, the province of Macedonia was expanded to include territory in modern-day… [Read full story]